Riverside Neighborhood Feature: Wood Streets

One of the best things about the city of Riverside is its neighborhoods. As you can see from the map below, there might be more than you ever thought.

Riverside is a very diverse city that offers many different types of lifestyles. These neighborhoods are what allows us to meet the unique living environments of its residents. You know what is great? I can drive down one set of neighborhoods to find brand new homes or find homes from the 1920’s just a block or two away.

Stay tuned as we continue to feature different neighborhoods and what they offer. Do you live or know about neighborhoods in Riverside? Send me tips about places to eat, schools, or just your own thoughts at [email protected]

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Today I am going to be focusing on “Wood Streets”. A neighborhood close to downtown and right next to the Riverside City College.

Why is the name Wood Streets?

It actually is exactly what you might think. Most of the streets have the word “wood” in them. Beachwood, Oakwood, Brentwood, Rosewood, etc.

The neighborhood was blanketed with orange groves until 1913, when an arroyo separating it from downtown Riverside was filled in and a developer named Wood began building houses and memorializing himself with such street names as Larchwood Place, Lynwood Place and Rosewood Place.

Riverside.gov does a great job of explaining this area.

Wood Streets offers perhaps the most cohesive neighborhood design to be found in the City of Riverside. Street and neighborhood designs reflect a very traditional aesthetic. The rigid grid layout of the community streets, coupled with their narrow width and beautiful landscaping, perpetuate a 1920’s neighborhood character. The homes of this neighborhood reflect the designs of the early part of this century and nearly all the homes were built prior to World War Two. A tour of this area can quickly demonstrate the remarkable variety, and beauty, of architectural styles in use at that time. – source

You will find mostly low density residential homes in this area and very few (if any) commercial centers. The best part of living in Wood Streets is the strong idea of community and lots of homeowners.

The cozy neighborhood feel is highly desirable in today’s real estate market. At least, for most home owners. As long as you understand the trade-offs that come with owing a home built back in the 1920’s. While they are probably more soundly built, you will lack certain features commonly seen in a new home( things like big closets).

One thing is certain, Wood Streets is one of Riversides best kept secrets. Not only do you get to live in a historic house, you get to live with a community of people who value what a good neighborhood in America use to be like.

My Visit To Riverside, Wood Streets

I spent sometime down in Wood Streets and took some pictures.I got to check out the neighborhood right before Halloween. It looked like it was shaping up to be a very popular night. Neighbors were busy decorating while lots of houses were full of decorations already. Community food was being set up(I think I saw a taco stand?). A couple houses were shaping up to hold events! I drove by the house “Hey Riverside!” was live at as well ( at least I saw a sign up for them). They looked like they were hosting a live event that night.

This is one of the advantages of being in a neighborhood like Wood Streets. I can’t wait for what they do with Christmas!